Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios

The Emerald Tablet is not my usual reading fare, but I enjoyed it. Written by Melbourne author Meaghan Wilson Anastasios who has a career in archaeology in the Mediterranean and the Middle East behind her and now uses her expertise to work as a researcher for film and TV, the novel has been described in a Saturday Age review as pure escapism in the mould of Dan Brown or Indiana Jones.' But though I think the flawed main character has the same kind of charisma as Harrison Ford, I think The Emerald Tablet is infinitely better than anything by Dan Brown on which I confess to having wasted my time.

The book begins with a well-constructed introduction that includes all the central characters, alludes to the quest that drives the narrative, and provides just enough of the geopolitics of the 1956 Suez Crisis to bring the reader straight to the story: what is this mysterious tablet that is wanted by all the superpowers converging on the Middle East? Yes, it's a reworking of an ancient theme: similar in concept to The Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter series et al, The Emerald Tablet is a quest for a power that in the right hands can protect the world and in the wrong hands would destroy it. The emerald tablet, hidden somewhere in the Middle East, is thought to hold the secret of alchemy, which is not, historically, (as most people wrongly think) about the transmutation of metals i.e. from lead to gold, but was aimed at the production of the fabled ‘Philosopher’s Stone’, which really had nothing to do philosophy but was supposed to bestow spiritual wealth and immortality. (See The Sceptical Chymist at The Logical Place if you want to know more about this.) In this novel, it's the possibility of nuclear knowledge in the wrong hands that makes the quest credible for a 21st century reader, and it's the chemistry between Ben and Essie that makes for interesting reading.

Anastasios builds a complex character in Ben. Like his mansion, he is a handsome edifice that had seen better days. He's obviously beddable, but not suitable for long term commitment because he's built for adventure. As Fiona soon finds out. She's despatched by page 53, berating herself for being sucked into his vortex and calling him out as a self-destructive narcissist. She agrees that she'll be safer leaving him, but not in the way that he — in the frame for murder, in a country that wants a culprit rather than justice — means it. Fiona's indignant departure sets up the possibility of romance between Ben and Essie, but previous betrayals muddy the waters and maybe there's a Book #3 before they resolve things one way or another?

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2019/08/07/the-emerald-tablet-benedict-hitchens-2-by-me...… (lisätietoja)